This invention relates to the construction of stalls for cows or other farm animals, and is more particularly directed to the construction of tie stalls wherein upright dividers are supported on respective single support posts embedded into a concrete floor of the stall. The invention is also directed to a stall divider which has a significant clearance over the floor at its entrance or proximal end to permit the cow or other animal to lie down while in the stall. The divider of this construction reduces risk of contact of the animal with the divider so that the divider leads to increased cow comfort and reduced incidence of bruising, abrasion, or other injury.
Various tie stall constructions have been proposed in connection with cattle barns. In many of these stall designs, dividers are formed of pipe, rail, or tubing and are supported in a generally vertical plane by one or more support posts embedded in a concrete floor of the stall, typical stall construction is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,642,037. Other constructions for stalls are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,421,478; 3,986,481; and 4,217,860. A divider structure for use i a tie-type cattle stall is shown in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 273,903.
The construction for a stall divider of U.S. Pat. No. Des. 273,903 has a number of functional advantages. The divider structure is simple, and is supported on a single support post that is embedded or anchored in a curb that separates the cow stand portion of the stall from a feed manger portion. This construction has an upright support post and a tubular member welded to it to define the dividing wall between stalls. A horizontal upper tube is welded to it to separate adjacent stalls. A horizontal upper tube is welded to the top of the support post. The distal part of the tube bends and then extends proximally back to the support post where it is welded. Similarly, the proximal part of the tube loops down and back to the support post, where it is welded. With no second support post, a cow in the stall is free to lie down without pushing against the divider. A standing cow is kept in place, which leads to a cleaner stall bed.
However, the divider does have a significant weakness in that there are welded joints where the lower tube attaches to the support post. This weld is strained each time that a cow presses against the rail or tubing. There have been many failures in the conventional loop stall design. The welds can fail after a time. In some cases the main upright pipe actually ruptures.
The outer sleeve or rust shield has to extend at least about two inches above the curb, and the loop is welded to the upright above the rust shield. This means that with the conventional rust shield the stall had to be installed higher off the floor than desirable. It would be desirable to lower the position of the lower horizontal rail, but this was not possible with the conventional design of stall divider.